Reefwander
A quiet sandy beach lined with trees and old white buildings, with calm green water and a forested headland beyond — Pedra do Navio, Ubatuba.

Ubatuba · Brazil · Reef

Pedra do Navio

A ship-shaped rock and a patch reef full of fish schools

Photo: Tony My Friend · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pedra do Navio is a huge rock that juts from the Ilha Anchieta shore in a ship-like shape, which gives the site its name. Close to the rock the bottom is shallow sand; further out the depth increases to a patch reef that gathers schools of many kinds of fish, within a 6 to 10 m profile.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Pedra do Navio: typical dive 6–10 m (20–33 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit6 m10 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

23.5280° S, 45.0533° WPublished position for this site.

The dive

The boat moors near the great rock that projects from the Ilha Anchieta shore into the sea, in a mooring sheltered from south and southwest winds. Its suggestive shape gives the site its name, Ship Rock. Near the rock the bottom is sandy and shallow, and the whole site lies between 6 and 10 m.

Swimming away from the shore, the depth increases and the dive reaches a patch reef, a rocky shoal. This is the focus of the site: the reef concentrates several schools of many different fish species. The whole site lies inside the Ilha Anchieta state park, created in 1977, where fishing and spearfishing are prohibited around the island.

Marine life and season

  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for Pedra do Navio
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairGoodGoodFairFairFairFairFairGoodGoodFairFair

Season follows Ubatuba: Diving runs all year. The water is warmest, up to 27 °C, in February and March, and stingrays gather to mate at Pedra da Cachorra in September and October.

Sources

  1. Pontos de Mergulho - Omnimare — Omnimare

Photo credits

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